The Gluten Free Edge

I’ve been getting better at traveling. This trip was the first one I can remember, ever, without even an upset stomach. Don and I were surprised and gratified that several new strategies seemed to help me remain healthy.

Strategy #1: Stay consistently hydrated throughout the day

Every morning at home I drink about 20 ounces of sweetened café latte made with half coffee, half unsweetened almond milk, vanilla, and sweetener – usually stevia and/or Truvia. We started with 2 quarts of septic-packed Almond Breeze and purchased another along the way so I had my usual morning starter every day.

Breakfasts were at the hotel buffets. There was fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and bacon that I felt was free from gluten and safe to eat. While at breakfast I used my smaller insulated bottle, 14 ounces, to make up a hot café con leche with dark roast coffee from the buffet, Nectresse, a new sweetener that I am really liking, and Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk. Coconut and coconut milk contain compounds that are anti-Candida, soothing and generally healing for the digestive system. I sipped on this mid-morning as we traveled.

My third beverage was based on Ricki’s Almost Instant ‘Kombucha’  (her party recipe is way down that page) that was the inspiration for one of my beverages on this trip. I used two tea bags of different flavors to make double strength tea for two days of beverages. The concentrated tea traveled in our little portable refrigerator that daughter Rita gave me for my birthday one year. To make my daily beverage I poured half of the brewed tea into an insulated bottle, added liquid lemon flavored stevia, apple cider vinegar (quite a bit more than Ricki used), ice, and plain water. It is delightful with carbonated water but drinking bubbly beverages in the car gets burpy, at least for me . This was my afternoon beverage and the 24 ounces lasted the rest of the day.

Brewing My Faux Kombucha

Strategy #2: The usual search for gluten-free food at restaurants (not new)

This proved to be our most successful trip for finding gluten-free restaurants. Two of the restaurants we found were phenomenal – Don’s comment on these two was ‘this should be the norm’. Paisano’s Italian Restaurant in Albuquerque was the first one that we experienced. Joe’s Dining in Santa Fe was the second one. Our experience at both restaurants filled me with hope for the future of dining on gluten-free, simply prepared, fresh food.

Strategy #3: Find a cabin or extended-stay motel with kitchen facilities

In the middle of our trip we spent three days at TownPlace Suites in Farmington, NM. There was a compact kitchen in the suite and we prepared simple dinners after shopping at local grocery stores. Leftovers went into salads for my lunches and Don had lunch meat to make sandwiches. We packed our ‘picnics’ in the cooler and took them on our daytime tours of local attractions. This worked so well that we followed the same pattern on the journey home. While traveling we ate dinner at restaurants but my leftovers (I always have leftovers) became part of lunch the following day. This was a brand new strategy for us and it worked so well – preparing our own simple meals that we will be using this again.

Strategy #4: Use the workout amenities!

We kept up with our workout schedule, for real, not just saying ‘we will’ and then ‘oh, we are too tired’. After a brief rest in our room waiting for breakfast to settle we headed to the fitness center for 30 minutes each day – no excuses and it was done. Then we changed clothes and headed out for the day, whether it was a sightseeing or travel day.

Our Excursions:
In Albuquerque we chose a motel near the historic and charming Albuquerque Old Town. I worked on a project once that sent me and three  clients for training in Albuquerque. In our sparse spare time we became fascinated with driving over to Old Town for lunch and browsing a few more shops each time we went. It has changed but somehow remains the same delightful collection of old buildings, courtyards, fountains, and shops. I scored my ‘souvenir yarn’ in a shop at the end of a little courtyard.

During our stay in Farmington we toured Aztec Ruins National Monument which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site representing part of Chaco Culture. There are only 21 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the United States. You have to see it and walk it to get a feel for the lives of these people. It was one of the most rewarding stops on our trip.

Durango, CO – This is just 34 miles North of Farmington and we spent one day just hanging out in the town and wandering through all of the various shops. We have visited the area twice previously. The first time we were on a motorcycle trip and camped at the local KOA campground. Another time we rented a cabin at Vallecito Lake which is nearby and drove into Durango for groceries and shopping. We seem drawn to small hand-crafted animal figures and this time found a charming owl and a box turtle carved in deer horn.

Hand Carved Animal Figurines

Lubbock, TX was our last stop on the trip home.  We picked up a brochure about Lubbock from the motel lobby in Santa Fe. That was where we read about Apple Country Orchards in Idalou, TX just outside of Lubbock. Arriving late afternoon we went there first after checking store hours. We were too road weary to pick apples but we bought a gallon of frozen apple cider plus a bag of Pink Lady apples. I have already defrosted the cider and boiled it down to syrup for use in I-don’t-know-which-recipes; it just sounded too good not to try. I’m currently considering apple cobbler for those apples.

Home again, home again, yeah, it RAINED while we were gone – three inches in the rain gauge! Then unpacking, laundry, mail, email, grocery shopping, etc. all of the usual stuff backed up a week. But we are so glad to be home.

Aside from the cider syrup the only thing I have cooked from scratch was the fascinating Soy-Free Tofu described at TRIUMPH OF THE LENTIL. I made the mistake of tasting the batter before cooking it – umm, raw bean :-{. Recklessly I added two tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning and one teaspoon of garlic powder to the basic recipe. It is all spread out on a covered pan in the refrigerator waiting to be cut up and ???? We’ll see. All that I know right now is that I am going to fry some of it to see what that is about.

I did throw together a pantry-based dinner for the two of us (leftovers for the next night as well). A package of Tinkyada shells, a jar of Classico Alfredo Sauce, a pound of frozen green peas, a package of frozen shrimp, and a sprinkle of that Old Bay Seasoning all simmered together in a skillet. We’ve had this before but without the peas, those were Don’s idea. I have to say it was a good idea and we will use it again.

The kitchen counter is stacked up with recipes to modify and notes on how I want to change them. I hope to get started soon but tomorrow is my volunteer afternoon in The Caring Place Food Pantry so I will not be wearing myself out in the morning.

Gretchen @gfedge